1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to rescue devices. More particularly, it relates to a life jacket having an internal pocket for storage of a large, easy-to-see balloon that is manually deployable to make it easy for rescuers to spot a person in a large body of water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A person wearing a life jacket while floating in a large body of water is very difficult to see from a helicopter or airplane. The human head is not much larger than a coconut and looking for a person floating in the ocean has been compared to looking for a coconut bobbing in the water while flying past it at seventy miles per hour.
A number of devices have been developed to make a person in water more visible to rescuers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,943 to Hull et al. provides a large inflatable raft-like device that has the letters SOS written on it. Since the raft-like device is much larger than a human head, it is relatively easy to spot. The device cannot be stored within a life jacket, however; a person donning a life jacket in an emergency situation must remember to take the raft-like device with them.
There are also a few patents that disclose devices having utility in connection with persons who are lost on land. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,260 to Frazee discloses a helium-filled balloon that is tethered to a backpack; a lost hiker can deploy the balloon to aid searchers. However, the balloon is stored in a backpack as aforementioned, and there is no suggestion as to how such a balloon could be stored in a life jacket.
There remains a need for a large, easily visible balloon that is stored in a life jacket in a deflated condition and which can be manually deployed and manually inflated when needed. The deflated balloon should be an integral part of the life jacket so that there is no need to remember to take the balloon when entering the water.
Moreover, the balloon should be stored within the life jacket in such a way that it does not cause the external surface of the life jacket to bulge out. This would ensure that a life jacket equipped with the novel balloon would not take up any more storage space than a conventional life jacket.
A person lost at sea for a day or more will need a supply of fresh water in order to survive. Thus, there is also a need for a means of providing fresh water to a person floating in seawater.
Moreover, a signaling means is needed as well to improve the chances of rescue.
However, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art how the identified needs could be met, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made.